Chapter 20: Aiden to Haru: Chapter 20

Haru

 

Six Months Later

 

My right hand was shaking like crazy by the time I was done with the essay, at the same time the exam proctor’s voice echoed across the hall. “Time’s up. Pens down, please.”

I gladly loosened my grip, with the pen landing on the sheet of paper on the desk with a light thud. I groaned, suddenly feeling so damn exhausted.

The final portion of this semester’s exam was grueling, and I admit I hadn’t a clue how well I did. If I was optimistic, I’d say it was fifty-fifty, since I sucked at economics.

After taking a sip of water to satisfy my thirst, I relaxed back against my seat, my head now swirling. The words were still floating around inside my head, and I suspected it’d take a few more minutes until they disappeared and left me in peace.

I felt something hard, like the end of a ballpoint pen, poking on the side of my arm. I didn’t have to turn my head to see who was working on gaining my attention.

Jess said, “How was it?”

I rubbed the bridge of my nose as I mumbled, “Shit.”

Jess chuckled. “That bad?” When I nodded, she said, “At least it’s over, right?”

I nodded again. Damn right.

It was over. The weeks of studying my ass off were finally over. At least until next semester started.

About fifteen minutes later, we left the examination hall, along with throngs of other very relieved-looking students. I didn’t blame them. None of us had looked like we had had any sleep since the last of this semester’s lectures ended, marking the beginning of the dreaded exam period.

As we walked out the door, I felt like a ton of weight had been lifted off my shoulders. This last month had been stressful, not just for me, but for Reo, Mason, and Isaac as well, since they, like me, were university students. If I remembered correctly, Isaac had his last exam today, whereas Mason and Reo had theirs yesterday.

“Time to chill and celebrate,” Jess said, spreading her arms out as she grinned brightly. “It feels so good to stretch, though it’s a bit cold.”

“Yeah, it is,” I said, tucking my hands into the pockets of my jacket.

“So, are you looking forward to it?” Jess asked.

I turned to look at her, wondering what she was talking about. “Looking forward to what?”

She grinned. “To going to Japan. I’m so envious of you.”

Now that she mentioned it, I hadn’t been thinking about the trip since I was too worried about exams.

We had put it off, my brothers and I, due to studying, and of course, Noah’s and Aiden’s jobs. Well, for Aiden, he could take his vacation anytime he wanted, but for Noah, he had just started his employment, and it wouldn’t look good if he just up and left for a vacation so soon after.

Since everyone insisted they wanted to go, Aiden had suggested it was a good idea to wait until the Christmas holidays, which also marked the end of the fall semester for me and the others.

“I’m looking forward to it,” I said, smiling. “It’s going to be our first trip together, and out of the country, too.”

Jess said, “First time you’re going back to your homeland?”

I nodded.

Though I had been very young when I had first left Japan, along with Mom and Reo, and I didn’t remember much, I still missed it, especially the winter season when the village was covered in snow and me and Reo spent our time playing outside, eating delicious seasonal food, and best of all, bathing in the hot spring.

“Take heaps of photos,” Jess said. “I want to see you guys having fun.”

“Mm-hmm.”

A bit later, I was on the bus, heading home, and Jess was tagging along, claiming she hadn’t feasted her eyes on a gay couple being lovey-dovey for months now. I was surprised Jess had banned herself from reading BL manga so she could concentrate on studying. I bet she’d binge-read tonight when she got home as a reward for working hard. This blond-haired, blue-eyed beauty was a hard-core fujoshi, after all.

“Tadaima,” I said as we entered the apartment.

“Okaeri,” Mason’s voice came from somewhere in the kitchen.

Jess and I headed in that direction, and as we went in, we saw Mason giving us a warm smile. As usual, he looked charming, even more so today with that golden-blond hair cut and styled. He must have just had it cut this afternoon, since it didn’t look like that this morning before I had left for the exam. He was currently preparing some root vegetables, slicing them into pieces. I noted two chickens, still raw and in their packaging, sitting on the countertop, and I suspected we were having roast chicken tonight.

“Preparing dinner?” I asked.

Mason nodded. He glanced at Jess. “Hey, Jess.”

“Hi, Mason,” Jess replied.

“How did your exams go?” Mason asked.

I pulled a face. “Can’t remember much now. I just know it was shit.”

He chuckled merrily. “But you studied hard, so I’m sure you’ll pass.”

Jess, already putting her bag down and taking her jacket off, was now rolling up her sleeves as she said, “It was super easy for me.”

I didn’t expect to hear anything less from the golden girl. She had been the top student in our grade back in high school, after all. The girl had beauty and brains. I bet the guy who managed to claim her heart would be a damn lucky person.

That idea caught me off guard.

Wait a minute! Reo!

He liked Jess, didn’t he? Now that I thought about it, he had always shown signs of liking Jess in a romantic sense. I mean he was always teasing her and doing things to draw her attention to him.

“Tadaima,” a voice echoed loudly from the hallway. “Anyone home?”

Speak of the devil.

I flicked my gaze to Jess and saw her jolt in her spot the moment she heard Reo’s voice. She was blushing red, too. This intensified my suspicion that Jess also liked Reo in a romantic way.

“In the kitchen,” Mason said. “We’re preparing dinner.”

“We?” Reo’s voice came again. “Don’t tell me that brat Haru is helping you with the cooking, Mason. He’ll burn the food, and we’ll have to have takeout for dinner again.” This was followed by a merry chuckle.

I frowned. As usual, that blood brother of mine was making fun of me.

When he grandly appeared at the door, I gave him a good glare and said, “I’ve only ever burned our meal once, Reo, and that was two years ago. I’m better at cooking now, thanks to Aiden.”

“Is that so?” Reo said, clearly showing signs of doubting my statement. He flicked his gaze to Jess then and gave her a smile. “Hey, Jess.”

“Hi, Reo,” Jess replied, still blushing.

Reo came over and tousled my hair as he asked, “How was the exam?” He turned to Jess and patted her head, too, which made her flush even redder in the face.

Jess said, “It…it was easy.”

I, on the other hand, didn’t comment, knowing he’d lecture me if I were to tell him I wasn’t confident in my results. Instead, I rushed to the door and before disappearing, I said, “I’ll just put my bag away. By the way, Jess is staying for dinner.”

Mason said, “Good. Let’s celebrate now that everyone has finished their exams for this semester.”

In my closet-sized bedroom, I left my bag on the floor. I was just unzipping my jacket when my cell phone buzzed. Quickly retrieving it from my jeans pocket, I saw that it was Aiden’s name on the screen.

“Hey,” I said to the man I had been in love with since middle school and had been dating for the last six months.

“Haru?” Aiden’s deep voice came through. “How did it go?”

I sighed. Everyone just had to ask about my exam, didn’t they? I guessed it couldn’t be helped. I had been stressing out about it, after all, and they were worried.

“I don’t know how well I did, but it’s over and done with now,” I said as I fell back on the bed.

“It’s good to hear you sounding relieved,” Aiden said.

He could tell I was relieved by the sound of my voice? As expected of Aiden.

“I’m glad. Even if you failed, you can always repeat. There’s no need to rush.”

I guessed he was right. There was no need for me to rush. There was no need for me to kill myself stressing out about not passing exams. If I couldn’t do it the first time, there was always a second chance. Worst case scenario would be for me to change courses.

“I’ll be home in half an hour. I’m just leaving the office now.”

This was Aiden’s habit, since we started dating. He always either phoned or texted to tell me when he’d be home.

“Okay,” I said. “See you soon.”

“Yeah,” he said. “See you soon. Love you.”

“I…I love you, too,” I stammered.

I heard him chuckling, probably amused, and I quickly ended the call. I headed back into the kitchen to see Reo preparing the chickens while Mason put the vegetables onto the baking tray and Jess cleaned the countertop. I rolled up my sleeves and pitched in as well, helping Jess with the cleaning.

It wasn’t long before Isaac, followed by Noah and Aiden, arrived home. As usual, Isaac made a lot of noise, this time chatting nonstop about his latest exam, which he had just finished. Noah, on the other hand, loosened his tie before he got himself a beer from the fridge and then went to sit on a chair behind the dining table. He looked worn out. Working at a gaming company must be tough, especially if you were a member of the marketing team.

Aiden came to me the moment he walked in through the door, and before I knew it, he planted a solid kiss on my lips, which took me by surprise.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jess watching us, a big grin plastered on her face.

I also happened to see Noah looking pissed as hell as he slammed the can of beer down on the table, while Mason looked rather gloomy. Eh?

When Aiden moved back, I asked, “How was work?”

“It was fine.” He chuckled. “Finally, I’m getting a decent vacation.”

“Your last day at work before the vacation?” Jess asked.

Aiden nodded. “How was the exam, Jess?”

She chuckled. “Piece of cake.”

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Aiden tousled Jess’ hair. “As expected of you.”

Noah still hadn’t uttered a word by the time we settled down for dinner, and none of us wanted to bother him since he looked ready to chew our heads off. And of course, dinner was, once again, as rowdy as usual, especially with Isaac.

“It totally sucks that none of my friends are coming along for the trip, but I’m so pumped and ready for it,” he said, beaming. “Like I heard hot springs are crazy awesome in Japan. And Hokkaido is especially beautiful in the winter, with all the snow and stuff.”

Reo said, “Hokkaido is beautiful in summer, too, with the blue sky and the sea.”

“And the seafood,” Isaac said as he eagerly picked more pieces of chicken from the tray in the middle of the dining table. “I can’t wait to eat a load of seafood.”

“Me, too,” Mason said. “But I heard winter is really cold in Japan, right? Especially in Hokkaido where we’re staying with Uncle Jin?”

This conversation regarding our trip to Japan continued until dinner was done, by which time Noah had silently disappeared to his room, probably to have a good night’s rest and recuperation. Jess decided to leave as well, since she had a few things to do, and Reo had offered to drop her off in a used car he had just bought a month ago. Before she departed, Jess explicitly reminded me again at the door to take heaps of photos. She had insisted that most of them were to be of me and Aiden doing lovey-dovey stuff, and she especially stipulated at least a few of them should be of us wearing kimonos.

After convincing her that I’d fulfill her request, I shut the front door and returned to my room to retrieve some clothes. Then I headed into the bathroom and took a shower.

Done and dressed in pajamas about ten minutes later, now feeling fresh and clean, I returned to my room, only to see Isaac there. He was taking out my clothes from the drawers and leaving them on the bed.

I asked, “What are you doing?”

Isaac looked at me for a moment and then said, “Exam period is over, isn’t it?”

I raised a brow. “Yeah. But what does that have to do with you doing that?” I pointed to my clothes on the bed. “Or are you so pumped for the trip that you decided to help me pack? But seriously, I don’t need that many clothes for the trip. We’re only going for three weeks.”

Isaac laughed as he waved my reasoning aside. “That’s not it, Haru. I’m helping you move.” He grinned cheekily. “Aren’t I a great bro?”

I still didn’t understand what he meant and asked, “Move?”

“To Aiden’s room,” he said. “You guys are practically husband and wife now, so it’s strange for you two to sleep in separate rooms.”

Heat rushed to my face, and I stammered, “It’s not strange. We’re only dating. We’re not a married couple.”

Isaac rolled his eyes. “If you’re so traditional about it all, then you should just get married so you can move into Aiden’s room. I know he wants you to move in with him since you guys announced your relationship.”

Really? Aiden had wanted me to move into his room since we started dating? I didn’t know that.

I picked up my clothes from the bed.

“What are you doing?” Isaac asked.

“I’m putting these back into the drawers,” I said. “Even if I decide to move into Aiden’s room, this room is still mine.”

“What? No way!”

I chuckled. “So, is that why you took the initiative to do this? Because you think you’ll get this room as your man cave?”

“Damn right, you little rascal!” He wrapped his arms around my shoulders tightly and teasingly rubbed my head with his knuckles. “I want this room, you hear. It’s your job to give it to your big bro.”

“Ouch! Ouch!” I groaned loudly, chuckling at the same time. “Let go! Let me go!”

The door flung open then, and Noah’s roared, “For fuck’s sake! You two are too loud. Keep it down, will you!”

Isaac and I froze in our spots, and we stared at the disheveled-looking Noah. His complexion was damn pale. There were shadows under his eyes, too.

“Sorry,” I said.

“You okay, bro?” Isaac asked. “You look like shit.”

Isaac got that right. Noah looked like shit, not only tonight, but for the past several months. His mood seemed to have gone from jovial to moody to plain exhaustion and a roaring demon since he started work six months ago.

Noah raked his fingers through his messy hair. “Work! I’ll be fine once I’ve gotten some rest.”

Then Aiden appeared at the door, along with Mason and Reo.

Aiden asked, “Is everything okay?”

Noah nodded. “Sorry, Aiden, I was just…”

Aiden patted Noah on the shoulder and said, “Get a good rest. I know work is stressing you out, but for the next three weeks, you don’t have to think about it. Let’s enjoy our vacation.”

Isaac nodded. “Starting now.”

Noah raked his fingers through his hair again and then nodded, too. He said, “Good night,” and then left again.

Mason said, “I’m worried about him. Isn’t his boss putting too much pressure on him? He’s basically doing another man’s job as far as I understand.”

“And stealing all the glory after the grueling work is done, claiming it’s his work and his ideas,” Reo said. “That’s some fucking shit going on there. Noah needs to either report what’s happening to the higher-ups or just quit completely.”

Wow! That was news to me. I didn’t know Noah was dealing with shit like that at work. No wonder he always seemed so pissed off and tired. Then again, Noah wasn’t the type to just put up with that sort of thing, and I wondered why he hadn’t given that bastard his piece of mind already? Or better, quit like Reo said. Was he worried about something?

Reo turned his attention to me and Isaac and asked, “And what are you two rascals up to? Being so loud?”

Isaac said, “I was helping Haru move.” He shrugged. “But apparently, he’s not ready.” He turned to Aiden and pointed a finger. “It’s your fault, Aiden, for not putting a ring on Haru’s finger. Go figure he’s so fucking traditional. Won’t even move into your room until after marriage.”

Aiden raised a brow while I stammered, “Shut up, Isaac. Aiden and I have been dating for only six months. Who gets married after dating for only six months?”

Isaac said, “Actually, you guys have known each other for more than ten years, which is most of your life, if you think about it, Haru, so the six months dating thing doesn’t really matter. Besides, some couples get married after dating only a couple of months.”

Reo said, “Haru is way too young to get married.” He turned to Isaac. “And you, brat, stop blabbering about nonsense like marriage. Now get back to your room and pack! We’re leaving at midnight tomorrow, and knowing you, you’ll leave things until the last minute.”

Isaac pulled a face, but left the room nonetheless, along with Mason, followed by Reo himself.

Alone with Aiden, I turned my attention to the rest of my clothes and started putting them back into the drawers.

Aiden shut the door and then came to sit on my bed. I glanced at him over my shoulder, noting the dark look on his face. Is he troubled by something?

“You okay?” I asked.

My query seemed to have caught him off guard because he jolted his head up, looked momentarily surprised, and then quickly shook his head as his expression changed to a smile.

“Yeah, it’s nothing,” he said, signaling for me to come to him.

My heart skipped, since I knew what he wanted, which was exactly what I had missed and craved as well.

I shut the drawer and came to sit on the bed beside him. I had missed this for the last couple of months, as I had been cooped up in my room studying. I missed sitting this close to Aiden, feeling his heat; his warmth always soothed me.

Aiden wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me to him until our faces were inches apart. With a hand touching my chin, he said, “It felt like hell in the last month not seeing you around as much.”

“We still live under the same roof,” I said.

“I know, but I hardly saw you since I didn’t want to disturb your studying, knowing how easily you’d get distracted.”

Wow! He was considerate.

“Thanks,” I said.

Aiden raised a brow. “For?”

“For thinking about me and stuff…”

He chuckled. “That’s a given, isn’t it? Now I can finally have you all to myself again,” he said, and then he kissed me.

He was rough and demanding, his lips pressing hard against mine as his tongue eagerly slipped into my mouth.

I groaned, feeling my body heating up. Aiden was always so good at making me feel it, the pleasure, and this time was no different. In fact, this time felt even more intense, like he had been starving for a taste of me.

He was sucking at my tongue now, in that erotic way that made me shiver from head to toe. I groaned deep in my throat, my heart racing fast in my chest.

When he was done with the sucking, he paid more attention to my lips, kissing the lower one and teasing it mercilessly until I was sure I was going to go crazy. My head was dazed, and my cock was hard by the time he let go of me.

My breathing heavy, I watched him as he straightened up and then… He turned his back on me.

Why is Aiden turning his back on me?

Suddenly, I felt this weird sensation twisting inside me, something cold and sickening.

I asked, “What’s wrong?”

Aiden shook his head. “It’s nothing.” He stood, which made me feel even worse, like I was being abandoned or something. What the heck is going on?

“You’re tired. You’ve only just finished your exams,” he said, his gaze anywhere else except on me.

Why is he avoiding making eye contact with me?

I was about to blurt out that I wasn’t that tired and wanted him to make love to me, but Aiden leaned forward and gave me a kiss on the forehead. “Good night, Haru.”

Good night?

Did he not want to make love to me? Did he not want to kiss and taste every inch of me? Did he not want to drive that fucking awesome cock of his inside my asshole?

I was…stunned.

Confused, I muttered, “Night,” as I moved to get in between the sheets.

Aiden opened his mouth, as if he was about to say something, but then closed it again. He left the room, shutting the door behind him.

Alone, I wondered what the heck had just happened. I had been looking forward to us hanging out and doing some much-needed erotic stuff after the exam, but now…

That twisty, sickening sensation was still swirling inside my stomach, and I hadn’t a clue how to make it go away.

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